Lightning produced ‘real positive moments’ in performance against Quins, says Smith

Head coach Nathan Smith wants to ‘double down’ on the things Loughborough Lightning did well in defeat to Harlequins, and end 2025 on a positive note in Round 11.

The African Violets secured a tryscoring bonus point at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, and were within striking distance of ending the visitors’ six-game winning run with ten minutes remaining.

However, Quins ended strongly to claim a 40-22 victory – with the final margin of defeat proving a bitter pill to swallow for Lightning in their final home game of the calendar year.

“Unfortunately it is a similar story, where the scoreline probably doesn’t reflect the performance,” said Smith. “However, the scoreline is the scoreline. We have to deal with that and unpick it. I think there was some real positive moments within the game that we need to double down on, and keep doing. There’s a couple of things we need to get right before going again against Sale.”

While Lightning came out on the wrong side of the result, it was another milestone match for scrum-half Meg Davey. Having become only the club’s second ever centurion against Saracens recently, the 24-year-old broke another of Katie Trevarthen’s records when she became Lightning’s all-time appearance maker with number 102 on Saturday afternoon.

“I said to Meg this week, she is a player that always surprises me in terms of, when you think she is done, she kicks on again,” explained Smith. “She is still developing as a player which is frightening as a player when you’re 102 games in and there’s still loads of growth in her game. She is very determined and committed to keep improving which is why she is with us.”

Davey provided the assist for Alev Kelter’s third try in four games since joining the club. It was the American’s best all-round performance in an African Violet shirt and drew praise from her head coach.

“Her performances have been growing week on week, she is an exceptional talent,” said Smith. “She has not played a lot of 15s recently, so it was always going to take a bit of time for her to grow into the game and back into the PWR. But you can see the quality she possesses by her performance today.”

The defeat was Lightning’s third in succession, during which time they’ve scored 74 points against top four teams and claimed only one match point for their troubles.

They have one more opportunity to add to their end points column and pull closer to the middle of Premiership Women’s Rugby before the two-week fixture break for Christmas when they travel north to Sale Sharks on Saturday 21 December (kick-off: 2pm).

“We are delighted we have got another game before Christmas,” added Smith. “It would be horrible to finish the block like we did today. We have got one more game left, it is going to be tough, away at Sale, there’s no easy games in the PWR but we’re very happy that we have got a game, or the opportunity to finish this block off with a positive outcome.”